Innovations in electronics and technology have made it possible to incorporate a variety of advanced features on automotive vehicles. Various sensing technologies have been developed for detecting objects or monitoring the surroundings in a vicinity or pathway of a vehicle. Such systems are useful for parking assist, lane departure detection and cruise control adjustment features, for example.
More recently, automated vehicle features have become possible to allow for autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle control. Sensors for such systems may incorporate cameras, ultrasonic sensors, LIDAR (light detection and ranging) detectors or radar detectors for determining when an object or another vehicle is in the pathway of or otherwise near the vehicle. Depending on the particular implementation, information from such a sensor may be used for automating at least a portion of the vehicle control or providing an indication to a driver regarding the conditions around the vehicle.
While such information is useful, it is not obtained without challenges. For example, the information from a camera detector can require relatively large amounts of processing capacity and time to make useful determinations. The same is true of other types of sensors or detectors. One challenge those skilled in the art are trying to overcome is how to handle information from such sensors or detectors in an efficient manner within the capabilities of the types of processors that are economical to include on vehicles.